Struggling with weekend choices

[Shanen]

I completed my whole 30 and reintroduction phase (42 days total) on Friday. Yesterday I splurged more than I am obviously used to. I Savored and fully enjoyed my splurges. I'm finding out today what may or may not have been worth it. I also workedthose 42 days straight... no days off. I'm struggling with my choices, as I felt I deserved a little leeway, but I'm scared to death of regaining my weight lost (17 pounds!) and I'm overall just feeling crummy today. I know returning to a strictly compliant diet will make me feel in control again, and make me feel better. My dilemma is, for how long? My relationship with food has never been good, and the past 42 days were the most carefree I've felt about food, ironically, in 28 years. I do well with structure, withbplanning, with rules. When I lose those things, I lose all self control. Any advice?

[ShannonM816]

Have you read through the Life After Your Whole30 information available on the site? https://whole30.com/step-four-finished/. It might help you to think about how you want to move forward. Melissa's latest book, Food Freedom Forever, is also about this.

I think many of us struggle with this, and it's normal to have trouble figuring it out. Know that you're probably going to have times where you feel you're going backwards or getting off track. Just get yourself back on track as soon as you can. That may mean doing another whole30, or it may mean doing a whole7 for a week, and then going to your own WholeShanen with whatever rules you've decided work best for you. Those rules could be eating whole30 at home and relaxing the rules when you're out, or not worrying about added sugar in things like meat or condiments ever. If you had a really bad reaction to something like dairy or wheat you may avoid those completely no matter what. And your rules can change over time, so keep thinking about how foods make you feel and whether they're still worth it to you.